Life with a Goddess
by Kurosu
Summary: AU, Ah My Goddess fusion. CloRis. EPISODE 4: Nothing still goes right for Cloud. He's getting more guests than he can handle.
1. One Miscall and a Lifetime Consequence

Crisis, I can't help it!! After going to Mint-san's CloRis site and a few others in Japanese, I was in the mood to finally start this one!! This has been floating around for months, ever since I was working on my AeriSeph ficcie, _Cetra Muyo OAV_. Anyway, here's the first episode with a nice closure for now. (The second episode will be coming along soon since I know what I definitely want to happen.) Enjoy!! o_o  
  
  
**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**  
  
  
"Now don't forget to take the messages!" came the last reminder, and Cloud groaned an affirmative. The door to the dormitory slammed shut, and he knew his two roommates were definitely gone for the evening. He leaned back against the wall and sighed at his unfortunate life being stuck at home on a Saturday night. He glanced at the phone on the table top and rolled his eyes.  
  
He just couldn't understand why it was so hard for him to get a date. He was in the SOLDIER's club after all, along with his roommates, but Sephiroth and Zack had such a big groupie that it didn't really count if they were in such a manly club or not. Now Zack, he could understand why the girls flocked to this flirtatious, easy-going guy, but Sephiroth on the other hand was a complete opposite of Zack and still had girls throwing themselves at his feet. It must've been the long hair that just grabbed a girl's heart.  
  
"Girls," he grumbled, "I'll never understand them." Then his stomach growled loudly, and he blushed in embarrassment. When he realized he had NO audience, he shook his head pitifully and reached for the phone. He dialed the number for the usual pizza place and waited until someone picked up...  
  
  
**~ Final Fantasy VII - Ah My Goddess Style ~**  
  
**Life with a Goddess**  
  
written by K-chan  
  
  
**Episode One: One Miscall and a Lifetime Consequence**  
  
  
But he waited and waited... and waited. Irritated, he cut the call off and dialed another number. After three rings, he smiled when it stopped, preparing to order, but he was cut short of the operator's voice, "We're sorry, but the number you have dialed has been disconnected."  
  
"What the--?!" came his reply as he stared at the phone. He could've sworn the deli place had just opened a month ago, and now the number was obselete?! He sighed and brushed a hand through his blonde hair in frustration, "Aaargh, one more try... Third time's a charm."  
  
Not caring if he didn't like sushi all that much, he dialed that number. Just after the first ring, a sweet voice came through, "Hello, you've reached the Goddess Helpline. My name is Aeris, and I'll be right there to grant your request. Please hold."  
  
"Wait a min--!" he called out, but all he received was a pleasant melody from the other end. He decided to hang up the phone, thinking he probably dialed the wrong number, but still, her voice was so wonderful. Too bad she left before he could ask for her home number, but that was just his terrible luck with women.  
  
He put the receiver down and sighed, smiling faintly, "Hmm, Aeris... pretty name..."  
  
"Thank you!"  
  
He looked up and saw a beautiful, young woman smiling down at him. Surprised, he fumbled backwards like the fool that he was. She blinked at his strange reaction. "Wh-who are you?!" he asked, "What are you doing here?! HOW did you get in here?!"  
  
She straightened up and said, "My name is Aeris, and I'm here to fulfill your wish. And as to how I arrived here..." She pointed to the mirror on the wall, "That way."  
  
He blinked, "What? You can walk through walls??"  
  
She giggled in such a cute way that he stared at her. He noted every detail of her appearance from the long, braid hair of caramel and her twinkling, emerald eyes to the perfect-fitting pink gown she wore. She was like an angel from above. No, not an angel, a goddess. She was definitely a goddess.  
  
"You're funny," she giggled, "I came through the mirror." She held her hand out, and a card suddenly appeared from thin air. Cloud rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things, and he definitely wasn't when she handed him the card. "My business card."  
  
He raised an eyebrow as he read it, "Aeris... Goddess First Class, Unlimited License. Hmm, a goddess with a business card--that's a first."  
  
"We specialize in helping people with problems, like you," she explained, "Our system received an access request from you by phone."  
  
He looked at her smiling face. "So... you're here to help me?" he sounded doubtful, "Like how?"  
  
"By granting you a wish." He stared at her wide-eyed. "However, you only get ONE wish."  
  
"A WISH?!" he said appalled, "For anything at all?!"  
  
She nodded, "Yes, if you want to be a billionaire, then we'll take care of it. If you want to destroy the Planet, we can do that too... But of course, we prefer to avoid doing business with that sort of customer..." She watched him intently as he leaned forward with elbows on the table, contemplating his situation. She sat down across from him and waited for his answer.  
  
All Cloud was thinking was how this was too good to be true, which meant it was probably a hoax masterminded by Zack who was always out to tease him. Just because he never had luck with women, Zack had to get this beautiful girl to make a fool out of him. Well he wasn't about to fall for it. He looked up and saw her shaking her head, "No, it's not true. This isn't a joke." He was stunned that she was able to read his thoughts. "As a goddess, I'm incapable of lying. Besides, why do you say you never have luck with women?" she inquired curiously.  
  
He sighed, "Can't you tell just by looking at me?" She shook her head. "Okay, stand up for a second." They both stood up next to each other. "See, I'm too short!" he said, indicating that Aeris was only an inch taller than him, despite the spikey, blonde hair that really made him appear taller... but that didn't count to him. "That, and I'm blonde."  
  
When they sat down again, Aeris just looked at him confusedly. "I still don't understand," she said innocently, "I mean, why would height and hair color deprive you of luck with women?"  
  
He stared at her if she was one in a million, and of course, he knew that when she was really a goddess. But it was nice to have someone listen to his problems and not ridicule him. The longer he was gazing at her, the more his wish became apparent though he wasn't totally sure if it was possible to have such a wish, but what the hell, he could just give it a shot. He probably won't work anyway.  
  
"All right, I'll take my wish now," he said.  
  
"Really?!" she chirped brightly, leaning towards him, "What have you decided?!"  
  
He smiled at her enthusiasm, "I want... a goddess like you... TO BE WITH ME ALWAYS!" She stumbled backwards a bit at the sudden request. Of all her goddess career, she had never heard of such a wish. "It didn't work, huh?" Cloud smiled sadly, "Too good to be true." But how wrong he was...  
  
Aeris could feel the energy with in her building up inside her body, and the diamond mark of a goddess appeared on her forehead. Cloud turned to her just as the mark shot out a beam of bright light straight into the air, ripping through the roof of the dormitory. He panicked as her body floating into the air, being surrounded by a column of immense power. "WA-WAIT A SEC!!" he shouted, "I WAS JUST KIDDIN'!!"  
  
Things seemed to be in chaos forever, but the unbelievable sight only lasted a few seconds before it slowly died down. Aeris's body resumed the law of gravity and was descending to the ground once more, but she was unconscious. Cloud quickly leapt for her over the table to catch her in his arms, ignoring the fact that he was adding another mess to the dormitory. He crashed to the floor with her in his arms, but what amazed him was the fact she felt so light, like she didn't weight a single ounce.  
  
Cloud watched her peaceful face and smiled faintly. He wanted to reach his hand out and caress her face, feeling the softness of her skin against his fingers, but she slowly opened her eyes. "Hey... umm, are you okay?" he said nervously, "Uuh, I'm sorry 'bout that..."  
  
She immediately sat up when she remembered what happened, "OH NO!" Cloud blinked as she looked around for something. She saw the phone and dashed for it, "I need to use your phone!!"  
  
"Su-sure..." He watched her dial a number, wondering who she was calling, and hoped it was a collect call.  
  
"Hello, this is Aeris," she spoke into the receiver, "Yes... No, it's about the last transfer... What? You mean it's REALLY final? But... Almighty One, you can't..." She sighed and then hung up the phone.  
  
Cloud looked troubled at her expression, "Is something wrong?"  
  
"The wish you made has been accepted by the system," she said calmly, "The Almighty said it's too late to change it."  
  
Relieved that that was it, he leaned back, sighing, "Already accepted, huh? That's nice..." But then it hit him that he had wished for something he had thought was impossible. "WHAT do you mean 'accepted'?!! And 'too late to change'?! Yo-you mean my wish for you to always be here--??!!"  
  
"That's right," she replied puzzedly, not sure why he would suddenly panick about it now.  
  
"But that's crazy!" he said in frustration. He clutched his head, trying to think of what to do. "It's not that I don't want you here, but this is an all-male dorm!! It's off-limits to women!"  
  
"Oh!" She finally understood his predicament, but it was too late when the front door opened, and in stepped Zack with Sephiroth right behind him. The scene seemed to freeze up at the two newcomers stared at their roommate with a young woman next to him. "Oh dear," she whispered with a hand over her mouth.  
  
Zack stared at her speechless, but Sephiroth stepped forward with a deadly look, "Strife, you know the rules. What happens to anyone who breaks them?"  
  
"No! WAIT!" the blonde shouted, "This isn't what you think! It's a mistake!" He tried to plead to Sephiroth about his situation while Zack, in the background, was smiling at Aeris. Every step he took close to her, a flustered Aeris would retreat back, and it looked like a waltz until she was pushed up against the wall.  
  
"You break the rules, you face the consequences," Sephiroth said firmly, staring down at the blonde coldly. Cloud knew what would happened, but he just had to try to convince them. He sighed and resigned to his punishment, which was to be kicked out of the dormitory. Then something caught his blue eyes, and he looked over to Aeris and Zack and became angry.  
  
Zack had a black booklet in one hand and a pen in the other as he smiled, leaning so close to Aeris's nervous face, "Heh heh, before Cloud gets kicked out, let me get your name and numb--" He was never able to finish his sentence since Cloud's foot to his head sent him flying into the wall. Cloud looked at Zack in annoyance and then grabbed Aeris's hand, and the pair stared to leave.  
  
"We'll send your belongings to you," Sephiroth informed him as he watched them leave down the hallway.  
  
"Gee, thanks," Cloud grumbled. He left the building with Aeris and walked towards the parking lot where a motorcycle was parked. He took a helmet from the back compartment and put it on while Aeris stood to the side, looking slightly side. He grabbed another helmet and turned to her, but he was taken back at the sad look in her eyes. "Aeris, what's wrong?"  
  
She looked up at him and was on the verge of tears, "I'm sorry, Cloud!!! I didn't mean for you to be kicked out... I'll understand if you never want to speak to me again..."  
  
He smiled, "So that's what's bothering you. Look, I made that wish so it's not your fault." He gave her the helmet and looked away, "And I guess it was kinda perfect timing too. I've been thinking about moving out of there..."  
  
"Then... you're not angry at me?" she asked hopefully.  
  
He looked at her and chuckled, "How can I? But are you sure you want this? You're a beautiful goddess now stuck with an unfortunate mortal."  
  
She shook her head, "My job at the Goddess Relief Office is over. Now I will always be by your side, Cloud." She gazed into his gentle, blue eyes, and the two stood their in silence until Cloud took the unworn helmet from her hands and put it securely onto her head. He then climbed onto his motorcycle and extended a hand to help her get on behind him. She smiled happily, wrapping her arms around his waist, as he started the vehicle. Just in seconds, the motorcycle sped off into the evening...  
  
  
_'And that's how my life with a goddess began...'_  
  
  



	2. Divine Interruption

Sorrie, everyone! I've been very sick, so you weren't imagining things when you didn't see anything new or updated from me... The next episode of _My Funny TURK_ will be out next and soon. Thank you for your patience! o_o  
  
  
**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**  
  
  
"Aeris?" he called, poking his head into the living room, but it was empty. He scratched his blonde head and continued to the back of the two-story house. He had checked upstairs for the goddess, and now that he stood on the back veranda, where stretches of various flowers bloomed, he concluded she wasn't even at home.  
  
Who would've thought a rundown garden house would be their new home, away from the crowded city streets, but still close enough for him to see the towers of Midgar University in the distance. Even so, he had been skeptical of living in such a place when they first stood in front of the buildings. Cloud had been staring up at it too long that his head threatened to fall off his neck, but Aeris, on the other hand, had been too delighted with the vast land in the back to realize the young man's worries, or at least objection.  
  
But then, Aeris convinced him with her goddess powers, transforming the rubbish into a beautiful Victorian house--the one he had always dreamed of owning when he had a family. Okay, maybe that last part wasn't true, but it was a perfect house to raise a family in. He smiled and looked at Aeris with a gentle expression as she cleaned the rest of the house by hand. It was then that he found out she used up a lot of energy using her powers, so he made her promise not to use her abilities when there was no need to, and it was for her safety too because who knew how many wackos were out there who would love to take advantage of her identity.  
  
  
**~ Final Fantasy VII - Ah My Goddess Style ~**  
  
**Life with a Goddess**  
  
written by K-chan  
  
  
**Episode Two: Divine Interruption**  
  
  
Cloud walked back into the house, heading for the kitchen to get something to snack on. On the way, he caught sight of a pile of mail on the hallway table. It had been days since they lived in the house, and already bills and junk mail were coming in like crazy. He sighed, throwing the unnecessary ones away until a a rectangular package was left at the bottom. He raised an eyebrow when he realized it was addressed to him.  
  
He started to open it as he walked into the kitchen. Finally there, he pulled the top flaps open and pushed away the cushioning to get to the item within it, which was a book. He glared at it because he had hoped it to be something more worthwhile, like a video game. The longer he glared at it, the title slowly dawned on him: _A Thousand and One Ways to a Goddess's Heart_.  
  
"Perfect!" he shouted happily, punching the air with the book in hand. It was the perfect book to help him get closer to Aeris. He was never good with girls to begin with, but now with one by his side--a goddess at that--he just didn't know how to go about it.  
  
He immediately flipped to pass the table of contents to the very first chapter, but he didn't notice the book beginning to glow until the brightness blinded him. He held the book away and shielded his eyes when something struck him in the face and he fell back unconscious, with a bleeding nose. Most of the light faded away to show a woman with short, blonde hair floating out of the pages of the book that now laid on the floor. From the way her bent knee came out, it must have been the thing that hit Cloud in the face.  
  
She looked at Cloud's unconscious form and frowned. She even kicked his legs a few times to see if he would get up, but no response came. "Hmm, this is not good," she said.  
  
"I'm back!" came Aeris's voice. "Cloud? Are you home?"  
  
The woman glanced back at the fallen man and appeared distressed, "This is definitely NOT good." She quickly picked up Cloud, wondering what to do with him in just a few seconds when the sound of footsteps were heading that way.  
  
  
Although it was just the two of them living in that house, it was strangely quiet for Aeris, like she felt something out of place. If Cloud didn't answer her, then he must have gone out. She would've been happy with that, but what if he didn't go out and something had happened to him that he couldn't respond to her. It was that second thought that greatly worried her.  
  
She carried the two bags of groceries throughout the first floor to check each room, and finally she headed for the kitchen. She stepped through the archway and saw his back to her. "Cloud! You had me so worried!" she said, walking up to him.  
  
"I'm sorry, Aeris," he said in a monotone voice, "How was your day?"  
  
She sighed, very relieved. "Please don't scare me like that again, Cloud. I know jokes are meant to be fun, but I care about you too much."  
  
"I'm sorry, Aeris. How was your day?" She stopped halfway to him and blinked, thinking that he had just apologized to her and asked her that question already. "I'm sorry, Aeris. How was your day?" he repeated. Totally confused, she went up to him and facefaulted at the sight of Cloud in the chair... with a pair of fake eye-glasses that made him appear that he was awake, tissues crammed up his nose to stop it from bleeding, a tape recorder in his lap that kept playing the apologetic phrase over and over, and finally a sign on his shirt that read 'I'm REALLY Cloud, and I'm REALLY fine, so NO ONE IS TO BLAME FOR THIS'.  
  
After Aeris's quick recovery, she took all the funny accessories from him and held him in her arms. "Oh Cloud," she whispered, holding his face close to hers, "what happened?"  
  
"Ae-Aeris?" he called, opening his eyes to see her angelic face smiling down to him. "I... just had the weirdest dream... Some lady came out of a book..."  
  
"Book?" she repeated with a slight frown. She looked around the kitchen and found the book still lying on the ground. Cloud was able to sit up by himself while Aeris stood up and called out, "All right, sister, come out now! I know it's you!"  
  
Right after that, the refrigerator door opened, and Cloud stared wide-eyed at the blonde-haired woman stepping out of the thing, drinking a diet soda. She closed the door and finished the can before walking over to Aeris and Cloud. Her outfit, compared to Aeris's own goddess one, was more conservative with pants. She smiled sweetly at the brunette but gave Cloud the most deadliest of frowns, also taking the empty can and crushed it against his head. Aeris gasped and immediately checked Cloud's newly acquired injury.  
  
The stranger took card from her jacket and gave it to Cloud, introducing herself, "I'm Aeris's big sister, Elena. I came to recharge her system force."  
  
Aeris stared at the older girl, "But what about the Ancient System? You're supposed to be the SYSOP, aren't you?"  
  
"Don't worry, little sister," Elena patted her on the back, "It's all in good hands." She smiled inwardly, knowing that all the work was put on the shoulders of the third goddess in charge up there.  
  
"But," Aeris looked away, "you're not here just to recharge the system force, are you?"  
  
"What? She's not?" Cloud asked, still rubbing his forehead with the impression of the can's bottom.  
  
Elena smirked. "Aeris, you're too smart for your own good," she said and then glared in Cloud's direction, "BUT WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THIS MAN IS NO GOOD FOR YOU???!!!! I WILL NOT PERMIT MY LITTLE SISTER TO LIVE UNDER THE SAME ROOF WITH A MERE MORTAL WHO ISN'T WORTH... who isn't worth... uuh, isn't worth..." She couldn't find the right words until she saw a mouse scurry by a piece of cheese, "HE ISN'T WORTH THE CRUMBS ON THE FLOOR!!"  
  
"SISTER!" Aeris shouted angrily while Cloud just stared at her because it was the first time he had seen her SO upset. "That is VERY mean! Please apologize to Cloud this instant!"  
  
"Umm, but Aeris," he interrupted, "I'm not offended at all... It wasn't much of an insult in the first place."  
  
Elena glared at him, "SO, YOU'RE SAYING THAT I'M STUPID??!!!" She then turn to Aeris to make her point, "See?!! How can you live with a man who insults your family??"  
  
"Sister, you're being unreasonable!"  
  
"But but, but Aeris!" she whined. "I'm just looking out for your well-being!! Do you know what kind of man he is?! He was so eager to read that book," she pointed to the one STILL on the floor, "He's thinking nasty thoughts about you!"  
  
"WHAT?!!" Cloud flushed, "NO, I'M NOT!!" He was thinking about Aeris, but not in THAT way. He just wanted to be close to her, to hold her and share a little kiss, so how were those labelled 'nasty'?? Well, he wasn't liking Aeris's sister too much right now.  
  
Aeris looked at him and smile, touching his hand and wrapping her delicate fingers around his. "I believe you, Cloud," she said. And just those words made the world a happier place for him, despite the view behind Aeris where Elena was flaring up in the background.  
  
"HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY LITTLE SISTER'S HAND!!!!!" Lightning and fire crackled around her body as Cloud stared in horror. Aeris finally caught on and threw up a shield around her and Cloud just in time when the surge of elemental energy shot out towards them. The pair wasn't harm, but their kitchen was another matter, especially the poor roof that took most of the beating when the power bounced off Aeris's shield and went skyward.  
  
  
That evening, Cloud was relaxing in the tub, trying to understand what happened that day, but all he could think of was Elena's scary face. There was no way his sweet Aeris could be related to that crazy woman, who seemed to want Aeris to dump him, but it wasn't going to happen, not if he had anything to do with it. And besides, it didn't seem Aeris wanted to leave his side either, even if his silly wish had started their whole relationship. But was there even a relationship between them?  
  
He couldn't deny they were getting closer each day, but still, was it right for a mortal and goddess to be together? Was it possible?!  
  
He sighed dreamily, thinking that Aeris was perfect in every way and to be with her for the rest of his lifetime would be heavenly. Unfortunately for Cloud, the bathroom door flew open, but not off its hinges. He gulped and sunk lower into the warm water when he saw a grinning Elena enter and close the door behind her. She was definitely planning something, and Cloud was VERY afraid to find out.  
  
Yes, Elena had thought it through: if Aeris finds out that Cloud is truly an unfaithful man, then she would leave him for good--wish or no wish. So, she put on her most sweetest and flirtatious smile, walking over to the tubside, and leaned over to him slightly. Cloud moved to the other end of the tub, keeping most of himself covered from her eyes, while she dipped a finger in the water and twirled it around, "Would you like me to scrub your back?"  
  
"Uuh, no," was his reply as he stared at her strangely because of her sudden change of mood.  
  
"WHAT?!" she shouted, having planned out his answer to be an affirmative.  
  
"No, thank you." He tried for a more polite response, hoping to get on her good side, "I appreciate the thought, but I can handle my own bathing."  
  
"Look here, pal," she growled, "I'm gonna give you a scrub, whether you LIKE IT or NOT!! GOT THAT?!!" She was definitely going through with her plan, no matter what, so she held up her palm to him, chanting something in an unknown language that slowly put a spell over Cloud. His eyes drooped halfway like he was in trance. "Now how about that scrub?" she repeated, grinning menacingly.  
  
"Ye-yes..." He slowly ascended from the waters, even though his brain was telling him not to... because of Aeris. And at the thought of Aeris, he snapped out his trance and retreated back into the water (to hide his dignity).  
  
"Dammit!" she cursed and added more power to the spell. He put in all his efforts to fight against it, but being a mortal against a goddess, he was no match and once more, he succumbed to her powers... only to be dragged into a tug-of-war. She could see the visible battle in him as he tried to pull away from her spell, and it was going to be harder than she thought. She was about to have had enough of the game with the short temper of hers. "MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MIND!!" she screamed, and the bathroom suddenly filled up with light and exploded from the instant energy.  
  
  
At the explosion, Aeris ran upstairs to the bathroom to find Cloud standing outside the tub with a towel around his waist. The bathroom was a mess with water splattered all over the place and the wooden beams and parts of the walls were wrecked. "Cloud, are you all right?!" she asked.  
  
He nodded, "But I don't think Elena is..." Aeris then realized that he was right when she saw her sister moaning on the the floor with smoke rising from her body. She looked up at the roof, seeing a neat hole with a pretty view of the starry skies. Cloud knelt down near Elena, where some characters were written, "There's writing on the floor."  
  
"Oh!" Aeris gasped and began to read it, "'It has been determined that a recent, temporary system crash was due to interference by Goddess Second Class (Limited) Elena. Therefore she must remain in exile until further notice.'"  
  
"What?!" Cloud exclaimed.  
  
With smoke rising from her charred head, Elena sat up with crossed arms, nodding, "Right. So don't try anything funny, Strife. I'll be keeping a close eye on you!" He and Aeris looked at each other and sighed. Their lives would never be calm and peaceful anymore, not with Elena around.  
  
  
_'And that's how my life with a goddess, interruped by her hot-headed sister, began...'  
  
'I HEARD that, Strife!'_  
  



	3. First Date Equals Total Chaos

You guys really want more?! *smile* Cool! It's been such a long time since I last saw a CloRis on FF.net, but catch some good ones on Mint-san's site: http://www.geocities.com/cloud_aeris2001 .  
  
I think Elena is a pretty cool chick, considering she's the only female TURK... And the TURKs just rule!!! *giggle* And instead of being like Urd, who wants to get Belldandy & Keiichi together, I thought it would be more funnie to see Elena ATTEMPT to break up Aeris & Cloud. *LOL* And besides, I like characters who are 'unpredictable, walking volcanoes ready to explode any moment'.  
  
Anyway, I've been in the mood for romantic comedies, so here's the next episode. Another character is introduced, making it a love triangle... Kinda...  
  
  
**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**  
  
  
The night was calm and quiet with the full moon hanging in the velvet skies and the scatters of stars twinkling in an orchestrated musical. Everything was perfect about the romantic setting, and all Cloud needed now was the one he cherished to be with him. He turned to his companion, staring deeply into her emerald eyes softening against his own blue ones, so strong and so much feelings floating between them.  
  
His hand reached up to her face and caressed the softness of her delicate skin. Both unknowingly leaned closer to each other, and from her adorable, half-closed eyes, his eyes trailed down to her delicious, pink lips that look so tempting. He could feel the dryness in his mouth, wanting to quench the thirst by tasting the sweet water of paradise. So close, they were only millimeters apart, but his eyes suddenly blurred, and he blinked. When his vision focused again, he stared into the familiar, yet different eyes, of Elena and screamed.  
  
  
**~ Final Fantasy VII - Ah My Goddess Style ~**  
  
**Life with a Goddess**  
  
written by K-chan  
  
  
**Episode Three: First Date Equals Total Chaos**  
  
  
Still screaming, Cloud woke up and stared at the dull-white ceiling like he was in shock. He had been so close in kissing Aeris again, but like every time, Elena would always pop up scaring the hell out of him. He shuddered at the thought and decided that since he was awake now, he would go ahead and get up for the new day. And hopefully, this day would be the day that he could be alone with Aeris.  
  
He sat up in bed and blinked, knowing something was not right about his room. He took one glance around the room and screamed again. He paused and did a double take at the walls filled with pretty girls in bathing suits and some without tops. And one name came to mind...  
  
"ELENAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs.  
  
Aeris was the first one to his room, busting down the door because she thought it was an emergency scream. "CLOUD! What's wrong?!" she asked. She was in a frilly, pink apron because she had been up early in the kitchen, making breakfast. She noticed Cloud had covered his eyes with one hand and pointed at the walls with the other. She looked around at the poster of women and gasped, "They're so pretty!"  
  
Cloud facefaulted, "Uugh, not quite that, Aeris." He then pointed to the woman without a bikini top who was showing her assets up close and personal, and Aeris stared wide-eyed and did the 'oh' expression.  
  
Elena, in a cruddy mood since she wasn't a morning person, finally appeared, scratching her head. "What's goin' on here? Why such a girlie cry in the morning, Strife?" she said dully, "Had a nightmare? Didn't wet your bed, did ja?" She snickered.  
  
"Change my room back!!" he demanded.  
  
The blonde goddess pretended to look confused, having no idea what he was talking. "What do you mean?" she asked, looking at his bedroom decor, "Omigod! Aeris, are you seeing what I'M seeing? He's such a pervert with all these photos of women!!" She grabbed hold of Aeris's arm, "Now you know what kind of man he is, just like the rest of those mortal, hormone-driven perverts. You can do without 'im!"  
  
Cloud panicked and was about to leap after them and hold Aeris back to him, but thank goodness she had more sense to believe a liar like Elena, "But sister, I know Cloud isn't like that." She walked over to the bed and sat down at the edge next to him, smiling. She placed her hands over his and said to her sister, "I know we haven't been together that long, but when I'm with him, I feel like we've known each other forever." Then she faced him, "Cloud would never be that kind of person to lie to me." She smiled.  
  
Her smiles were so contagious he could never do anything else but return them to her with much warmth and happiness. "Aeris," he whispered with so much care. They were in their own little world, ignoring the fuming Elena tugging on her hair in the background. She was building up energy again, but it only seemed like a natural reflex every time Aeris and Cloud were getting lovey-dovey.  
  
But this time, Aeris snapped back into reality first, leaping at Cloud, and both fell onto the bed as a lightning bolt flew over their heads and zapped the wall of posters. "SISTER!" she yelled, "why must you be so violent?!" Elena readied another lightning bolt while Aeris was ready to counterattack it with her own energyball. During the whole goddess fight, Cloud was hiding beneath his covers, sighing and waiting until his room was in shambles, but at least by then, he wouldn't have those posters anymore.  
  
  
Eventually, Aeris was able to convince her sister to repair Cloud's room and get it back to normal, much to his enjoyment, and the three of them sat down for a good breakfast, but it seemed Elena was even moodier after that incident. Cloud rolled his eyes and continued his meal, listening to Aeris chat about the pleasantness of her morning adventures with the neighbors.  
  
"And little Marlene gave us a box of cookies before she left for school," Aeris said happily. "She's such a sweet girl. And the nice newspaper man..." It wasn't an exciting story, but Cloud listened anyway because it was from Aeris, but he noticed from the corner of his eye that Elena was about to go for the delicious fish head and quickly intervened with his chopsticks. They looked at their conquest and then eyed each other dangerously, growling. Luck for them, Aeris wasn't paying attention since she was absorbed in her story, and so a nasty hair-pulling and foot-in-face battle ensued over fish.  
  
  
For rest of the morning, Cloud stayed in his room, huddled at his desk with a calendar in his hand. He sighed as he stared at the date that was getting quite close to Christmas. If only he could spend one day with Aeris, he could end the year on a happy event and begin the new year with good memories, but how in the world could he do that without Elena finding out and ruining the whole thing?  
  
There was a knock on his bedroom door, and he turned around to see Aeris in a more casual dress. "I have to go to the store a bit, but would you like me to get you anything, Cloud?"  
  
He immediately smiled and hurried to her side. He leaned towards her and whispered, "Where's Elena? Does she know about this?"  
  
"I haven't seen her since breakfast. I think she went to the library."  
  
"GREAT!" He grabbed her hand and ran all the way downstairs, getting a jacket on the way, and they were out the door in twenty seconds flat.  
  
  
Meanwhile, Elena WAS at the library, grumbling, as she looked at the piece of paper in her hand. She had to squint at it to read the words, and it was in HER handwriting, but eventually she remembered what she had scribbled down and went to search for the books. She sighed, going down one aisle after another until she found the book she needed. "Why can't they just organize them according to subjects. It would be SO much easier for me."  
  
She then spotted a library employee carrying a hefty load of books and pointed to him, "Hey! You there!! Where's your suggestion box?"  
  
Straining under the weight, he stopped politely and answered her, "I believe it's at the front."  
  
She waved a book his face, telling him, "You seriously need a section dedicated to 'homicide'!" The young man twitched strangely at her suggestion.  
  
  
Back to Aeris and Cloud, who were sitting across from one another in a booth by the window. He watched her wandering eyes and smiled at her delight. And he too was very happy because they were finally together and on a date, even though he didn officially asked her out. He pretty much pulled her out here, but she was on her way out to do some shopping anyway. He would've preferred to take her out in the evening for a romantic dinner, but Lady Luck was never on his side... until now. He smiled goofily, thinking they could take a walk in the park afterwards, holding hands... and just stay away from the house forever. Then, Elena would never, ever be able to find them! They should just move to a deserted island and live there!  
  
"Fufu~fu~," he chuckled at the thought.  
  
Aeris turned to him and smiled, "I'm so happy you're in a good mood, Cloud!" Then she looked away sadly, "I know you haven't been feeling happy with Elena around, but she's a really kind goddess! She has good intentions, but sometimes she just has a rather extreme way of dealing with things. Please don't think badly of her." Her eyes pleaded to him, and there was no way in the world he could disagree with her, so he nodded to ease her mind.  
  
"I'll do anything for you, Aeris," he smiled, putting his hand over hers in reassurance even though he wished that Elena would give him a chance to prove himself. It seemed like Aeris should be talking to her and not him about it.  
  
She smiled brightly, "Thank you, Cloud."  
  
He just stared speechlessly at her beautiful self, thinking that that very moment she was truly a goddess, so pure and elegant. He could feel his face heating up and flushing red. "Ae-Aeri-is," he stuttered, wanting to tell her of his feelings.  
  
"Yes, Cloud?"  
  
"Ae-Aeris... I... I..."  
  
"HEY THERE!" Cloud screamed in shock, jumping up from his seat and smashed his face against the window pane. "Cloud!" the voice called out to him. The owner of the voice was a young brunette with long hair and garnet eyes. She immediately pounced at him and helped him up before Aeris could do a thing. "I'm so sorry, Cloud!" she said, "I didn't mean to scare you. I was just so happy to see you!"  
  
Finally a dazed Cloud snapped out of it, and his eyes focused on the familiar woman, "Huh? Tifa? What are you doing here?"  
  
"Silly, I work here!" she said, twirling around for him to see her waitress uniform. "Now what can I get you today?"  
  
"I'll just have the steak sandwich," he said and turned to the goddess, "What would you like, Aeris?"  
  
At the name, Tifa froze in her writing and whirled her head to the young woman with green eyes, glaring at her as she looked at the menu. She wondered why she didn't notice Cloud was with another women before but shrugged it aside as she evaluated the one named Aeris. She was very pretty, and Tifa also noted the closeness between the two of them, which just angered her even more.  
  
"The seafood platter sounds nice," she said and looked at Tifa, "I'll have that one please."  
  
"Excellent choice!" the waitress said in a too-high-of-a pitch voice--in other words, to cover up her evil thoughts. She finished writing their orders down and turned to Aeris, "By the way, I'm Tifa Lockheart, a childhood friend of Cloud's."  
  
"Really?!" she chirped, surprising Tifa, "That's so cute! You and Cloud must have wonderful memories together!" Tifa stepped away from the table, too stunned to speak. She did know Cloud when they were kids, but they were never that close. She had only brought it up to let Aeris know to back off her territory (like Cloud was a piece of land at stake).   
  
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Aeris said, "I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Aeris. I met Cloud a few days ago, and he has been so kind to me."  
  
The blonde flushed in embarrassed, "Aaawe Aeris, what guy wouldn't be kind to you? You make everyone's day brighter, especially mine." Tifa took a giant step away from them in horror at Cloud's words. He seemed to have some feelings for the young woman. She turned her back to them, trying to figure out how to deal with the situation now. Cloud and Aeris noticed Tifa looking away, and the former said, "Uuh Tifa? Could we get our drinks now? I'm kinda thirsty..."  
  
"AAH!" she gasped, turning around with a nervous laugh, "Aahaha... I'll get them right away! Sorry!" She scurried off, still deep in thought that she didn't watch where she was going and just mowed down her co-workers in blind anger. Cloud sweatdropped, seeing people flatten on the ground after Tifa's trail of smoke.  
  
"My, how energetic," Aeris smiled. Cloud looked at her, and everything that happened before seemed to have disappeared because all he could think of was how he loved seeing her smiles. "I hope we can become good friends," she said. He nodded, thinking how Aeris could just be friends with anyone, even the devil himself.  
  
  
Moving away from the pair a bit, Elena was found... almost skipping down the street with each hand carrying a bag filled of books, and she was actually smiling happily for once. And wouldn't you like to know the cause of all this? It happened over an hour ago when... she was kicked out of the library for such an insane suggestion and blabbering on which poison was best used in eliminating a pest. She just wasn't ANY eldest goddess, whose dominion was over the past... Although her hobby was reading books whenever she felt like it, her main specialty was in potions--more specifically POISONS.  
  
After being kicked out and screaming insanely in front of the library while onlookers stared at her, she walked off in a huff, still ranting about poor service and mistreatment. She was so occuppied that she didn't realize she walked into a rather rough area of the district (according to her) because an opening door smacked her in the face. She quickly pummeled the culprit, who was an every day salaryman leaving a bookstore.  
  
"Oh, bookstore!" she chirped, dropping the beatened man to the ground, and entered the little shoppe. And that was pretty much how she left the store with books to her liking... because she charged them all on Cloud's credit card that she just happened to have had at the time. Okay, so she 'borrowed' it just in case.  
  
Elena glared at the readers, screaming, "OKAY, SO I STOLE THE FREAKIN' THING!!!" Then she grumbled, "Geeze, go have a heart attack!" [SD-K-chan sweatdrops.] After the little interjection, she was off on her journey home to do some reading with one purpose on mind: how to get rid of Cloud, so her little sister can return to the Heavens with her (when the Almighty retracts her banishment). She hummed a little tune on the way when her stomache suddenly growled. She stopped dead in her tracks as the growl grew louder, getting more stares than usual, but she just gave them her patent Elena glare and everything was fine and dandy once again, except for her empty stomache.  
  
And how fortunate that she had stopped in front of a diner. "LUCKY!" she smiled. She averted her eyes from the restaurant sign to the windows so she could see what the inside of the place looked like, and that rare smile of her just dropped off the face of the earth as she dropped her books and pressed her face to the window, flattening her already wide eyes against the pane till she looked like a madwoman. Her fists pounding against the window also added to that assumption as the people who had been sitting right there ran away, screaming in horror.  
  
Elena kept hitting her fists against the diner windows and shouting like crazy at the sight of Cloud and Aeris eating together. "THAT !@&*$&#!@%$!" she yelled, "AERIS, NOOOOOOOOO!!! NOT HIS EYES!! DON'T LOOK INTO HIS EYES!!! DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!! DON'T TALK TO HIM!!! EVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!!!!" And with that she grabbed her bags of books and smashed it repeated against the windows until they broke and rushed towards the pair, who turned to the commotion.  
  
"ELENA?!" the two gasped.  
  
She ran pass a waiter, who was in the middle of serving his customers. "Uuh, there was a door, Miss," he pointed out to her but was naturally overlooked.  
  
"STRIFE!!!" Elena screamed, charging right for him, "HOW DARE YOU KIDNAP MY LITTLE SISTER!!" She suddenly stopped and looked around until her eyes spotted a knife on a nearby table. The blade twinkled in her vision, and she smiled menacingly. Cloud gulped as she grabbed the knife and began to sharpened it to a nice gleam.  
  
"SISTER!" Aeris called, trying to stop her, "Please stop this! Cloud and I are just having lunch! Please put the knife down before someone gets hurt, and you're welcome to join us."  
  
"Hey, Cloud!" Tifa said, walking over to them with a pitcher of tea, "What's going on here? Why all the commotion?" She finally noticed that all the customers were trying to pay so they could get the hell out of there, and the cause was the blonde woman with a VERY sharp knife. Tifa turned away, mumbling to herself, "Drat, another one after Cloud! I've got my work cut out for me!"  
  
Cloud glanced at her, "What's that?"  
  
"Ha ha, oh nothing," she replied. "Umm, is she a friend of yours too?"  
  
"Uugh, not really. Just Aeris's insane sister we could do without."  
  
"I HEARD THAT!" Elena screamed, trying to get out of Aeris's headlock so she could hurt Cloud REALLY bad.  
  
"SISTER, PLEASE CALM DOWN!!" the green-eyed goddess advised, "If you don't, then I'll do something about it." The energy around the two goddesses began to gather, causing a small tremor to the diner, but just enough to cause chaos to the place with the employees and customers panicking. Tifa shrieked at the danger and clutched Cloud for dear life, knocking the two of them off their feet.  
  
Cloud sat up with Tifa in his arms, and he asked her, "Are you okay, Tifa?"  
  
She stared at him with dreamy eyes, "Yes... thanks to you, Cloud." She was about to hug him as his reward, but he caught sight of Aeris collapsed on the other side of the diner and hurried to her side, much to Tifa's dismay.  
  
"AERIS!!" he called, lifting her into his arms. He gently shook her, "Please, Aeris, say something. Aeris... please be all right. If something happened to you... I... I... Aeris..." He embraced her unconscious form with all his heart, praying that she was all right.  
  
"C-Cloud..." came her soft voice.  
  
"AERIS!"  
  
"A-are you all right?" she managed to ask as he helped her sit up. He just couldn't believe the first thing out of her mouth was asking for his well-being. She was the one hurt yet she only had his safety on her mind.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine," he answered, "But you're hurt. Don't say anymore."  
  
She shook her head and stood up with him, "No, I'm really fine. It just took a lot of energy to stop Elena from exploding. Elena... where is she?" They looked around the ruined diner for the source of mayhem and couldn't find her anywhere.  
  
"Maybe she took off?" he wondered, "And I think we better too, or else it'll draw attention to you."  
  
Aeris nodded, and the two of them left the eatery, unknowingly leaving behind the blonde goddess beneath a pile of debris. "Uugh," she groaned, pushing the bricks and whatnot off herself, and got herself out of there, still gripping the knife tightly in her hand, "what happened?" She looked around at the mess and blinked, "Did I do that??"  
  
  
_'This was only the beginning...'_  
  
  
**NEXT EPISODE... "Life Is Like A Deck of Cards..."**  
  
  
**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**  
  
Okay, sorrie 'bout the fight over the fish... The Lenten season must be gettin' to me... *sweatdrop* And err, don't get me wrong with this episode: I have nothing against Tifa. I like her character too, but I just like Aeris way, WAAAAAAAAAY much more, which I'm sure you know by now!!!! Anyway I have updated _Crimson Kiss_, and also a new CloRis is up, _Materia Mayhem_--a fusion with _Slayers_! =+.+=  



	4. Life Is Like Poker, With a Full House!

Insert usual disclaimers.

I changed the title to this episode too, from what it originally was.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

It was a cold morning, as Cloud huddled in front of the television with a blanket covering him. He looked bored and hungry. He let out a loud yawn while surfing through the channels for something to watch. It was a day after New Year's, and nothing interesting was on, only a bunch of New Year's variety TV shows. "Why can't they just show movies?" he sighed, "I'll even take a chick flick!

"Or... have some alone time with Aeris." His next sigh was longer and heavier. Ever since Elena moved in with them, there was never a single moment he could be alone with Aeris. "Like that would happen! Pfft, I'll take anything right now..."

As if God had answered his prayers (in a strange way), the television screen before started showing a bunch of girls in bikini, running around on the beach and hitting a ball back and forth. They were all giggling and having fun. There were many close up shots of the women's bodies.

Cloud sat very still with his eyes staring blankly at the screen. A tiny drool was dangling from his mouth.

"AHA!" screamed a voice.

**Episode Four: Life Is Like Poker, With a Full House!**

written by Kurosu

He snapped out of his trance and turned around to face a triumphant Elena. Her finger was point right at him, guiltily. "Th-this isn't what you think!" he tried to persuade her, but there was no stopping Elena when she had her evidence to ruin him.

"OMIGOD! AERIS!" her voice boomed through the whole house, "AERIS, COME HERE AND SEE WHAT CLOUD IS DOING!"

Cloud panicked and tried to change the channel, but the images on the screen didn't change at all. Every channel he flipped to had the same bikini-clad women on the beach. When he heard footsteps coming down the stairs, he knew there was only one thing left he could. "HURRY, AERIS! WITNESS THE LIBIDO OF MAN!" she laughed.

When Aeris appeared in the doorway, wearing a pink and white lace apron over her floral red dress, she leaned against the wall, catching her breath, "Is Cloud all right?!" She blinked at Elena, whose eye was twitching at the scene before her.

The blonde, young man was rubbing the back of his head, nervously... with a busted television behind him. "Ah, I'm sorry," he said, "the remote slipped out of my hand."

"WHAT?!" Elena shouted, "That's not true!" She whined in front of Aeris, "I saw him--!"

Aeris smiled and patted Elena's head like she was a little girl tattle-telling on the other kids, "Sister, you should behave now. Shouting in the house like that would scare anyone." She looked at Cloud, sweetly. "We'll just have to buy a new television then."

"But Aeris--!" Before Elena could say anymore, the doorbell rang, and Aeris left them to answer it.

The woman in red made her way to the front door, sighing. Her sister was such a handfull, always causing trouble for everyone. She wondered what she to do. She loved her sister dearly and knew her sister was very protective of her welfare, but her dear Cloud didn't deserve it. She wondered how long the Almighty planned to punish Elena.

"Hm, I'll have to contact Father," she contemplated, arriving at the door, and then pushed the thought aside, preparing herself to greet the guest. She smiled and opened the door, "Hello~!" Silence followed as she stared at visitor and blinked.

Meanwhile, Elena's blood began to boil, and her anger flared back at Cloud. "YOU!" she growled, slowly making her way towards him. He backed up to the broken television, pushing the coffee table with his foot into her pathway. The blanket around his shoulders fell to the floor as she stomped the table to pieces, and the aura of flames burned the furniture to ashes.

"This... is... all... your fault!" she screeched and lept at him. Cloud quickly scurried out of the way, and she landed face first onto the floor. He cringed at the painful sight and was saved when Aeris returned.

She sweatdropped at the sight of her unruly sister and shook her head. "Elena, we'll have to talk later." She turned to the young man and chirped, "Cloud, you have a visitor!" She moved aside to reveal a beautiful woman with her blonde hair twirled up in a bun. She wore a light blue tank top and a pair of tight black pants.

"Sc-Scarlet!"

The said woman grinned and blew Cloud a kiss, "Hey, little brother."

"Little brother?!" the two goddesses gasped. Elena was quickly upright in a _seiza_ position at the information, carefully eying the guest. On the other hand, Aeris was just the opposite. She immediately pulled Scarlet to the couch for a seat and said to Cloud, "I never knew you had such a lovely sister!"

The said woman raised a curious eyebrow at the brunette sitting next to her and then wondered what her brother had been up to and how he managed a rare catch like her. Her brother got to his feet and sat across from them, speaking his mind aloud with a bit of annoyance, "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Wutai working."

"Yeah, about that," she started, "I quit my job three days ago."

"WHAT?!"

"I'm broke and homeless, so I'm staying with you!" she announced.

There was silence, but Cloud immediately broke that, "NO WAY! You're not living here! How are you broke from your modeling job?! Why can't you stay with mom and dad?!"

She yelled back, "How do you expect a model to live up to her image?! It's an expensive lifestyle! And besides, mom and dad disowned me, remember!"

"And whose fault was that?!" he shouted back even louder, "You're the one who quit school to be a model!"

"Yeah, SO!?" She stood up, over the coffee table to confront him.

He took her challenge with his abrupt stance, "SO don't come to me!"

"Be a good brother, and take care of your sweet, beautiful sister!"

"I will when I see her!"

"CLOUD! You're so mean!"

"You're a bully! You've always picked on me when we were kids."

"Oh, are you talking about the time I cut your hair?" Scarlet reminisced, "When it looked like a chocobo's ass, huh?"

"Wow, I think I like her," Elena offhandedly commented.

"You guys," Aeris tried to calm them down, "I'm sure we can work this out." She stood up with her hands in between them, trying to separate them before they killed each other. "Cloud, we have a lot of room, so why don't you let Scarlet stay till she figures out what to do. I mean, she is family after all."

Scarlet looked at the woman speaking. "Family, huh?" She eyed Aeris, slyly, "So, what are you to Cloud? His wife?" She chuckled and turned to her brother, "I didn't know you had it in you to get married so young!"

"WHAAAAAAAAAAT??!!" came a ton of voices. The four turned their heads to the archway to find a pile of Cloud's friends on the floor. Tifa and Zack were staring at the said 'married' couple with worried, panicked eyes while sitting on top of poor Sephiroth, who was grumbling for them to get off him.

"This can't be true!" said the brunette waitress with teary eyes.

Zack ran over to them and slammed his hands on the table, "I can't allow this!" Elena imitated his actions and agreed with him too. "I want to marry Aeris-chan!" he declared and the blonde goddess punched him across the room.

"Sephy~!" Scarlet latched herself onto Sephiroth's arm, after he had pulled himself off the floor and into a worse situation. He wished he was under ten feet under the earth right now. "I've missed you so much!" she cooed, twirling a finger on his manly chest, "You should take me on a date!"

"Cloud!" Tifa pointed to him, "Is this all true?! What is Aeris to you?!"

Everything was chaos around him: His childhood friend interrogating him! His sister flirting his senpai! And Elena stomping the crap out of Zack, who is still belting out marriage proposals to Aeris. How did a quiet, chilly afternoon in January ended up in such a mess?! How did his sister find the house? What the hell were his friends doing here?!

Well... Cloud would later find out anyway: Scarlet stopped by his old dormitory, but he wasn't there. His roommates gave the new address to her. After that, they were curious about their young friend's living conditions and decided to go see him too. On the way there, they bumped into Tifa, who eagerly wanted to see her childhood friend and crush. And that was how the afternoon came to be...

There was only one thing he could do...

He grabbed Aeris' hand and pulled her with him, out of the room, shouting back, "Since everyone is here, we'll get refreshments!" There was finally silence after they disappeared, and no one was sure what to do. Without anyone noticing her, Elena quickly vanished from the room.

When they reached the kitchen, Cloud shut the doors behind them to get some privacy. He let his back lean against the doors and released a heavy sigh. The worried goddess stood in front of him, placing comforting hands on his shoulders, "Please don't be upset, Cloud. It will turn out all right." She gave him a dazzling smile, "I promise."

He placed his hands over hers and returned her smile, "As long as you're here, Aeris." She nodded. They were gazing into each other's eyes till Elena popped in between them. He hurried away to the fridge to get some food while Aeris went to make tea. Folding her arms across her chest, the blonde eyed each of them carefully.

The doors to the kitchen bursted open, and Tifa walked in as if she owned the place. "Ok guys, what do you need help with? You know, not only am I a great waitress, I cook a badass meal too!" she said proudly.

Scarlet followed in right behind her while dragging a stiff Sephiroth with her. "Since I am staying her, I might as well see the rest of the house," she grinned. "Oh, and Sephy, you're welcomed to come by any time. My room is opened 24/7 for only you! 3"

"All right!" Zack cheered, coming into the kitchen last, "Let's make this the best start of the year!" He pumped his fist into the air. "Let's all play a game!"

Aeris agreed, "Oh, that sounds fun."

"Life SUGOROKU Special," Elena slammed her hands on the kitchen table. Everyone blinked at her. "What?"

"I was thinking more of," Zack grinned, "Poker... Strip poker." The other two males groaned while all the women except for Aeris were glaring at him. "Or not."

_'So much for any alone time with Aeris.'_

**~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~**

"Life Sugoroku Special" is from the _Ah My Goddess_ manga. A board game suggested by Urd and played by the group.

Sorry, this episode was short. I'm not that satisfied with this one either. I wasn't sure how to introduce "Cloud's sister" into the picture, much less making it Scarlet. There's still a bit of characters to be introduced too--such as Rufus, Reno and the TURKS--but let's take this slowly, lol... considering it's been years since I last wrote something.


End file.
